When Count Erdödi commissioned Haydn to compose six string quartets, he was willing to pay a hundred ducats each for them and the private performance rights. These quartets would become the most famous such works from the composer's late period. The previous recordings in the Haydn edition demonstrate that the Leipzig String Quartet has hit on an approach to this music that is modern as well as thoroughly historically informed and above all always gripping. They easily number among the best releases in this genre. The Leipzig Quartet uses period bows that are not strung as tightly and produce a different and unique sound.